Politics
• Analysis
Michael Bloomberg Puts $80m Behind Democrats as Trump Moves $400m to Republican Candidates
Michael Bloomberg will spend $80m to help Democratic candidates in the midterm elections, US media reported on Tuesday, with contributions made in September and October. The same day, Donald Trump announced he intended to spend a total of $400m to aid Republican candidates, $300m of it already disbursed.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 20, 2026
• 2 Min Read
Aiming past a bare House majority
The bulk of the former New York mayor's money is pointed at Democrats running to flip the US House of Representatives, which Republicans control by a historically small margin. His political adviser Howard Wolfson said the aim is a majority larger than the 218 seats needed to win the chamber.
"The difference between 221 and 230, in terms of the House majority, really matters."
Wolfson said: "He is of the view that resources matter in campaigns," adding that Bloomberg "expects a result".
Where the $80m goes
The contributions, made in September and October according to the New York Times, reach several named recipients:
- •$24m to Everytown for Gun Safety, a group Bloomberg cofounded that is spending on Democratic House candidates
- •$16m to the House Majority Pac, connected to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries
- •$2.5m to a Super Pac backing James Talarico, the Democratic candidate in Texas's US Senate race
- •gifts to a Super Pac backing Kathy Hochul's re-election as New York governor and to several Democratic gubernatorial campaigns
A repeat donor with a track record
Bloomberg, 84, served three terms as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. A former independent who later registered as a Democrat, he spent $80m helping the party in the 2018 midterms, during Trump's first term, and ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
The other side's ledger
Bloomberg's announcement landed the same day Trump said he intended to spend a total of $400m to aid Republican candidates, with $300m already disbursed. Elon Musk has spent $366m on conservative groups and campaigns so far.
Democrats believe they are favored to take back the House, though they have acknowledged trailing Republicans in midterm fundraising. They also see a shot at netting the four seats necessary to retake the Senate, though analysts think it could go either way. Control of either chamber would allow Democrats to block Trump's legislative agenda and investigate his administration; a Senate majority would also let them reject his judicial and supreme court nominees.
